Royal Family Suite #8694

[loving2cruise]

Good Evening,

Does anyone have pictures of the Royal Family Suite#8694 and it's balcony on the Explorer Of The Seas ship? I would love to see pics, if you can share. It would be greatly appreciated. I would also love to hear your experiences of the Royal Family Suites. I have never cruised in one, as of yet.

Thank you :)

[Kevin's girl]

We are also cruising in a Royal Family Suite in November. We will be on the Navigator in #9394. I will take and post a bunch of pics when we get back. I have seen a few threads that have pics here on Cruise Critics. Here are the links:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1280138&highlight=

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1243860&highlight=

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1074251&highlight=

[loving2cruise]

We are also cruising in a Royal Family Suite in November. We will be on the Navigator in #9394. I will take and post a bunch of pics when we get back. I have seen a few threads that have pics here on Cruise Critics. Here are the links:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1280138&highlight=

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1243860&highlight=

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1074251&highlight=

 

 

 

Thank you for the links..very helpful.

The suite looks beautiful :) Enjoy your cruise

[123purpledolphin]

I will be cruising in cabin 8694 also. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if there is a problem with privacy. It looks like deck nine suites look down on deck 8. Also, have the updated the rooms at all? From the pictures i see it could use some work. I saw pictures of the rfs on navigator and it was a whole lot nicer. Thanks!!!!!!

[loving2cruise]

Looking straight up to the 9th floor balcony. It was semi private. Unless they walk to the end of their balcony, it will be private.

[loving2cruise]

More balcony pictures..

[jtonra]

Here's a few more.

[123purpledolphin]

Thanks so much...:-)

[PantherFan]

check cruiselinerooms com for more pictures.

 

it has 9694 (same room) also look at the other ships in that class for pictures

[Camlott]

I will be cruising in cabin 8694 also. I am wondering if anyone can tell me if there is a problem with privacy. It looks like deck nine suites look down on deck 8. Also, have the updated the rooms at all? From the pictures i see it could use some work. I saw pictures of the rfs on navigator and it was a whole lot nicer. Thanks!!!!!!

 

Took some shots from my balcony on Voyager (1692). None of the aft balconies on deck 8 & 9 have privacy. The balconies in this shot are 9694 & 8694

[123purpledolphin]

Hey loving2cruise you wouldnt by chance have any more pictures of the cabin you can show me...:-) I noticed on one of your replys said more pictures but it wasn't possible to click on..lol

[jeh4554]

We stayed in the RFS on Adventure on the ninth deck and loved it. The balcony was amazing. It was our first time to enjoy the concierge lounge and that was nice too. We hope to be able to cruise in a suite again sometime!

[123purpledolphin]

Yes my husband and I took the inaugural sailing of the Explorer. Have done other suites on other rccl ships but this is our first royal family suite. October will not come soon enough..lol

[Debde]

I was wondering. For those of you who have stayed in a suite and a RFS-I was wondering the size of the master bathroom? I've always enjoyed the space in the bathrooms in a suite and wanted to know in the RFS, if it is still a good size bathroom. The pics make them look much smaller. My future cruise will be on Voyager.

[MrsB05]

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise with my recently widowed Father. We definitely need/want a two bedroom/two bath suite. I have NO idea whether the Royal Family Suite would work for us or not. A few questions for all of your very helpful fellow Cruise Critic Members:

 

1. What is the minimum occupancy for this level of suite?

2. In general, what would the cost be (I know it would vary, of course, on the ship, number of nights, destination, etc., BUT just a general idea of what everyone has paid would be helpful).

3. Would it simply be better for us to book two separate balcony rooms, even though he'd have to pay for two?

4. Probably would leave out of Tampa, which I believe would mean Jewel of the Seas since Radiance is departing Tampa soon; but, could leave out of Miami, Cape Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale if a better deal/nicer options.

 

Thanks!

[MrsB05]

Re #3, I mean he'd have to pay for double occupancy.

 

 

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise with my recently widowed Father. We definitely need/want a two bedroom/two bath suite. I have NO idea whether the Royal Family Suite would work for us or not. A few questions for all of your very helpful fellow Cruise Critic Members:

 

1. What is the minimum occupancy for this level of suite?

2. In general, what would the cost be (I know it would vary, of course, on the ship, number of nights, destination, etc., BUT just a general idea of what everyone has paid would be helpful).

3. Would it simply be better for us to book two separate balcony rooms, even though he'd have to pay for two?

4. Probably would leave out of Tampa, which I believe would mean Jewel of the Seas since Radiance is departing Tampa soon; but, could leave out of Miami, Cape Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale if a better deal/nicer options.

 

Thanks!

[Camlott]

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise with my recently widowed Father. We definitely need/want a two bedroom/two bath suite. I have NO idea whether the Royal Family Suite would work for us or not. A few questions for all of your very helpful fellow Cruise Critic Members:

 

1. What is the minimum occupancy for this level of suite?

2. In general, what would the cost be (I know it would vary, of course, on the ship, number of nights, destination, etc., BUT just a general idea of what everyone has paid would be helpful).

3. Would it simply be better for us to book two separate balcony rooms, even though he'd have to pay for two?

4. Probably would leave out of Tampa, which I believe would mean Jewel of the Seas since Radiance is departing Tampa soon; but, could leave out of Miami, Cape Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale if a better deal/nicer options.

 

Thanks!

 

Let me start by saying I have never stayed in one but priced a similar situation a few different times.

 

1. Minimum occupancy is 5, however if you watch a sailing they often open them up for 2 or more. I found one well in advance of sailing (6 months+) and also very close to sailing date. So you never know... If you see it as being able to book on the website then that usually means they have removed the 5 person minimum as you typically must book these over the phone or through a TA.

2. When I priced them, both times the price was the same as an owner's suite per person for #1 & #2, passengers #3+ were at the 3rd passenger rate for the suites on the same sailing.

3.Yes, this was definitely the cheapest route! Another option would be on a freedom class ship to do a connecting balcony/interior combo (ex. #9696 & #9701) I think this might be available on some of the second generation Voyager class as well.

4. Someone else will probably have better info than me on this one.

[foxgoodrich]

DH and I are thinking of taking a cruise with my recently widowed Father. We definitely need/want a two bedroom/two bath suite. I have NO idea whether the Royal Family Suite would work for us or not. A few questions for all of your very helpful fellow Cruise Critic Members:

 

1. What is the minimum occupancy for this level of suite? RCL says the minimum is 5 for a RFS. BUT if the RFS doesn't sell out, they will drop the minimum. Last year when we sailed in a RFS on the Voyager (it has 4 RFS cabins), we learned that 2 of the 4 suites were occupied by less than 5 people. One had 3 people, and one had only 2. (When they drop the minimum occupancy, you only pay for the number of people in your group. If you book an RFS with the occupancy requirment still in place, I think you would have to pay for 2 phantom pax.)

2. In general, what would the cost be (I know it would vary, of course, on the ship, number of nights, destination, etc., BUT just a general idea of what everyone has paid would be helpful).The best way to estimate the cost is to look at an Owners Suite for a given cruise. The RFS usually has the same fare as an OS for pax 1&2 and pax 3 and above. On the website, do a dummy booking for 3 and take a look at the OS to get a pretty close estimate of the price. In our case, the total price for 5, including tax and port charges, was right at $6k.

3. Would it simply be better for us to book two separate balcony rooms, even though he'd have to pay for two? Maybe. You should look at both options and compare prices. One advantage of the RFS is that it is a full suite, so Concierge Service (with access to the CL) is one of the perks. Another very nice suite perk is access to the full MDR menu for room service. We had wonderful room service breakfasts (even eggs benedict!) on our balcony.

4. Probably would leave out of Tampa, which I believe would mean Jewel of the Seas since Radiance is departing Tampa soon; but, could leave out of Miami, Cape Canaveral or Ft. Lauderdale if a better deal/nicer options.

 

Thanks!

 

We had a group of 5 (4 adults, 1 toddler) in our RFS and enjoyed it very much! Having 2 bathrooms was great! The master bathroom is large - seemed a little bit bigger than the bathroom in a typical JS - and has a tub/shower. The 2nd bathroom is a regular cabin type bathroom with the small shower.

 

We loved having the space! The balcony was quite large and nicely furnished with loungers and a full size table with 4 chairs. The master bedroom is quite a bit larger than the 2nd bedroom. The RFS on Voyager had a huge walk-in closet. It was really nice having a living room too!

 

One thing you might look at is the location of the RFS on the ship you choose. On Voyager class ships, the RFSs are aft cabins, so there's a fairly long walk to the closest elevator. This didn't bother any of us, but it might be a consideration for your dad. We didn't mind getting a bit of extra exercise, plus we had a toddler who just loved those hallways.:)

 

Hope this info helps - have a great cruise!

[Kevin's girl]

We had a group of 5 (4 adults, 1 toddler) in our RFS and enjoyed it very much! Having 2 bathrooms was great! The master bathroom is large - seemed a little bit bigger than the bathroom in a typical JS - and has a tub/shower. The 2nd bathroom is a regular cabin type bathroom with the small shower.

 

We loved having the space! The balcony was quite large and nicely furnished with loungers and a full size table with 4 chairs. The master bedroom is quite a bit larger than the 2nd bedroom. The RFS on Voyager had a huge walk-in closet. It was really nice having a living room too!

 

One thing you might look at is the location of the RFS on the ship you choose. On Voyager class ships, the RFSs are aft cabins, so there's a fairly long walk to the closest elevator. This didn't bother any of us, but it might be a consideration for your dad. We didn't mind getting a bit of extra exercise, plus we had a toddler who just loved those hallways.:)

 

Hope this info helps - have a great cruise!

 

We were in a Royal Family Suite for our November family cruise. the cabin was fantastic. There were 5 of us in the cabin. The extra space this type of cabin allowed was perfect. Here is a link to my Webshots album:

[Gordo]

We were in the Royal Family Suite (9694) on the Adventure of the Seas in 2009 and absolutely loved it. There were five adults in the room as we were on-board celebrating our mom's 70th birthday. We really thought there was a lot of space in this cabin. Mom and daughter slept in master, wonderful husband slept on "bed" in living room, and brother and his girlfriend slept in the second bedroom (which felt similar to an inside but the bathroom and huge walk in closet were in the hallway).

 

The master bedroom was large with wonderful storage. The master bathroom was not overly large - but it had a tub which was great.

 

It was an aft cabin, and while it was a little bit of a walk from the elevators, it had a really great view (love an aft cabin). The balcony was very large and we really enjoyed each sail-away from each port.

 

We were able to see down on the deck 8 balconies, but only really noticed when the people were standing at the rail.

 

Hope this helps.